True Love?
by glitterkitten3
Summary: Marinette and Adrien navigate their regular lives and their heroic double life. Ladybug gets hurt and tried to hide it from Cat Noir, but fails and he figures out who she is beneath the mask. What will happen to their relationship now that her secret is no longer a secret from him? Will they find true love or will their partnership crumble? **I own nothing but the plot**
1. Chapter 1

**Here is an updated version of Chapter 1! Thank you for being patient with me. I hope you enjoy! -BG**

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* Marinette's alarm starts ringing. She yawns sleepily as she sits up to turn it off. Checking her phone, she sees the time.

"Yikes! I'm gonna be late!" Marinette shouts. She scrambles down her bed and changes into normal clothing. "Tikki, why didn't you wake me?"

"I'm sorry Marinette. You looked so peaceful," Tikki replies guiltily.

"It's okay Tikki. Now I just have to come up with a good excuse this time," Marinette tells Tikki, hugging her Kwami to her cheek. "Quick, hide Tikki!" Tikki flies into Marinette's purse. Marinette sprints down the stairs into her parents' bakery. "Bye, mom! Bye, dad!" Marinette grabs a croissant from a tray that her dad holds out for her.

"Bye honey! Have a good day at school!" Marinette's parents tell her as she runs out the door. After hurrying up the stairs to her classroom, Marinette stops and takes a deep breath. She looks at the clock on the wall and sighs. There are still 5 minutes before class starts. She walks through the door and trips on the step before getting to her seat. Her schoolbooks spill all over the ground. The class laughs at Marinette's typical clumsiness. Embarrassed, Marinette gathers her things and makes it to her seat. Her best friend Alya bumps her shoulder.

"Nice entrance, as per usual Mari," Alya jokingly tells her friend.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want. You know how clumsy I am!" Marinette replies. Alya just chuckles.

"Alright, class! Let's get started on today's assignment!" Miss Bustier announces. "Each of you will be working with a partner to design and create a pair of costumes for this year's Halloween party. I have already selected your partners. To figure out who it is, you will need to solve a riddle to find the place where you will be meeting your partner. If you look on your tablet, I have sent you clues. Class is dismissed. Oh, and no talking with anyone else in the class until you find your partners. Happy hunting!"

Marinette says goodbye to Alya and grabs her backpack. She walks to the stairs just outside of the school doors, pulls out her tablet, and looks over her riddle.

"Find your partner at a place where the cold can cause hearts to melt." Marinette reads out loud. "Huh, that's easy! Andre's ice cream stand!"

"Good job, Marinette!" Tikki compliments her. "Go meet your partner for your assignment." Marinette smiles at her little friend and starts running towards Andre's stand on the Pont des Arts bridge. Once she arrives, she sits on a bench and pulls out her sketch pad. She is there before her mysterious partner, so she looks through her designs to see if there is anything useful for the assignment. The sound of footsteps causes Marinette to pause flipping through her sketches. She looks up and sees her partner walking toward her. Inwardly she gasps.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, here is an updated version of chapter 2. I apologize for all the updating. I had some grammar edits that I needed to make. I hope you enjoy! -BG**

Adrien walks towards the Pont des Arts bridge looking at his tablet. His clue was super simple.

"Find your partner at a place where the cold can cause hearts to melt." He reads out loud. "I wonder who my partner will be, Plagg."

"Maybe Chloe?" Adrien's Kwami jokes.

"Not funny, Plagg," Adrien replies. "Although, that is possible. Chloe is in my class. If I did have her as a partner though, I would be the one doing all of the work." Adrien walks through the streets of Paris dodging crazed fans left and right. He runs into an ally way to avoid a crowd exiting from a subway station. Breathing a sigh of relief Adrien continues his journey to Andre's stand. He spots Andre's cart and grins. Finally, he is at his destination. He looks over all the people on the bridge to see if he could spot anyone familiar. So far, he can't tell. Getting closer, he sees dark blue ponytails. He sighs in relief. Marinette wants to be a fashion designer and is very smart. Adrien smiles and walks towards her. He notices how focused she looks. As he gets closer, she looks up startled. He smiles at her and waves. "Hey there, partner," he tells her.

"H-h-hey Adrien. Wh-what are you d-doing here?" Marinette askes flustered, standing up to greet him.

"I'm here to find my partner for Mrs. Bustier's class assignment," Adrien explains. I take it you are here for the same reason?"

"Y-yeah, I am," Marinette replies, gaining confidence.

"Awesome! So just to double-check, what is your clue?" Adrien asks.

"It is 'Find your partner at the place where the cold can cause hearts to melt.' I figured that meant Andre's ice cream stand because he is known to bring lovers together with his ice cream," Marinette tells him.

"That is the same clue that I got. So, I guess that means we are partners for this assignment," Adrien says happily. He looks at Marinette closer and notices how nervous she is. Her arms are folded over her sketch pad across her chest. Adrien sits on the bench she was on earlier and pulls her to sit too. "Hey, I know you are worried, but you shouldn't be. Your designs are amazing! My dad did handpick the hat you made for another class project as the winner. From the few sketches I have seen, I don't think there is anything that you can't design and be amazing." Marinette blushes at Adrien's compliments. She looks into his eyes to gauge if he is telling the truth. Realizing that he does have so much confidence in her she lowers her sketch pad onto her lap and begins to look through it again.

"I was looking through here to see if I already had anything useful but so far, I haven't found anything for Halloween. We will have to come up with something new to use," Marinette tells him.

"That's okay Marinette," Adrien says. "I'm sure we will do just fine. With both of our experiences with fashion and runways, we can't lose!" Adrien is really excited about this project now. He would probably never admit it, but he had started to develop a crush on Marinette. Even though he was supposed to be in love with Ladybug, he couldn't help but develop feelings for Marinette too. She is so kind, clever and smart. She always stood up for others and treated everyone as her equal. It is just so endearing to Adrien. He is totally psyched to spend time with her even if it was just to work on the project.

"Do you want to come over to my house to start working on some designs?" Marinette askes giggling at Adrien's excitement.

"Sure. That would be great!" Adrien replies. His phone buzzes in his pocket. He takes it out and looks at the message. 'Photoshoot in the park for a new ad campaign. We are on our way to pick you up so be ready in 5. – Natalie' Adrien sighs after reading the message. He looks at Marinette. "I have to go to a photoshoot right now, but I can meet you at your house in about an hour to work on the assignment."

"Okay," Marinette says with a slight sadness in her voice. Before Adrien can ask why Marinette seemed so sad, a car pulled up and Natalie stepped out and called for Adrien. He sighs again.

"See you in an hour, Mari," Adrien tells her. He waves as he steps into the car. Natalie shuts the door and as the car drives away, Adrien watches as Marinette waves back then says something into her purse then strikes a confident-looking pose. _Well, that is strange_, Adrien thinks. _I'll have to ask her about that when I see her again._


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! It was brought to my attention that I made a confusing error with this chapter. So here is the fixed version. I just took out one sentence that threw everything off. Thank you AgresteBug for pointing it out to me! I hope you guys enjoy! -BG**

Marinette waves as Adrien's ride drives away.

"Well that went well, Marinette!" Tikki says from Marinette's purse. "You have Adrien as your partner, and you hardly stuttered at all!" Marinette puts her hand down and opens her purse slightly to see Tikki.

"You're right, Tikki," Marinette says. "I can do this. I can get my fear and insecurities under control!" She strikes a confident pose with her head held high and her hands on her hips. Tikki and Marinette both laugh.

"You probably want to take Adrien's photos down before he comes over though," Tikki tells her.

"Gah!" Marinette yells. "You're right, Tikki. That will make things so weird. Well, weirder than they already are I guess." Marinette runs off the bridge and starts to make her way home. Before she gets there, she hears screams of frightened people coming from the Eifel Tower. "Well Tikki, it looks like taking down those photos is going to have to wait." She runs into an empty alleyway and opens her purse. Tikki flies out.

"Let's go save the day, Marinette!" Tikki says.

"Mhm. Tikki, spots on!" Marinette says. In a flash of pink light, Marinette becomes Ladybug. Using her yoyo, Ladybug flies over towards the commotion. A new villain was blasting people with ice freezing them in place. She's dressed completely in pale blue, from the headband in her white hair to her 4-inch stiletto heels. Her pale blue dress stops just above her knees and is covered in dozens of snowflakes. Even her skin has a pale blue tinge to it.

"You think you're the best with shaping ice sculptures? Ha! Not anymore! I, Frost Bite, will be the best and only ice sculptor this city has ever seen!" yells Frost Bite. She continues to blast people into perfectly formed ice sculptures. She spots Ladybug swinging towards her. "Ah, Ladybug, right on time." Frost Bite shoots ice beams in Ladybug's direction. Ladybug dodges the beam, and swings around behind a column to take cover. "Give me your miraculous, Ladybug, you can't win this. I can just freeze you solid then take your earrings after I thaw you when you are too cold to fight back!"

"Never! I'll keep fighting no matter what! Hawk Moth will never get the miraculouses!" Ladybug yells back, going in for another attack. Frost Bite shoots an ice beam at Ladybug, but Ladybug blocks the beam using her yoyo as a shield. "Where are you, Cat Noir?" she mutters under her breath. "Lucky Charm!" she calls. A flashlight appears in her hands. "A flashlight? What am I supposed to do with this?" She flashes the light beam in Frost Bite's eyes when Cat Noir appears behind Frost Bite. With Frost Bite temporarily blinded, he knocks her off her feet. Frost Bite falls and hits the ground dazed. He plucks her wand from her hand and throws it to Ladybug.

"For you M'lady," He says with a slight bow. Ladybug grins and catches the wand. She snaps it in half and throws it into the ground. A dark purple butterfly appears and starts to fly away. Ladybug opens her yoyo.

"No more evildoing for you, little Akuma!" She says. The yoyo catches the butterfly and purifies it. "Gotcha!" Ladybug says happily. "Bye-bye, little butterfly!" The white butterfly flies away. Ladybug turns to face Cat Noir. "How did you know the Akuma was in her wand?"

"Uh, I, um, uh, lucky guess?" Cat Noir stutters.

"That must have been some lucky guess," Ladybug laughs. She then goes to fix everything but slips on a melting ice sculpture and cuts her side. She winces in pain and falls to her knees. Ladybug slowly gets back up and Cat Noir freaks out.

"Ladybug!" he yells. "Are you okay?" He rushes to her side and helps her back to her feet.

"I'm fine Kitty," she replies holding her side with her hand. She throws the flashlight into the air and shouts, "Miraculous Ladybug!" The magic ladybugs restore all the people to their human selves. Her cut, however, does not get healed. Cat Noir tries to stop her, but Ladybug uses her yoyo and swings away. He tries to follow her, but she manages to lose him when she ducks into an alley. With a pink flash of light, she transforms back into Marinette. Tikki lands into her open hand. Marinette feeds Tikki a macaroon before inspecting her injury closer. The gash in her side is not too deep so she puts her shirt over it and jogs to her house with her hand over her side.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, I am sorry I was a little late with publishing this chapter. I was without internet all weekend and had a ton of homework to finish up. I hope you enjoy! -BG**

Marinette reaches her house and uses the side entrance to avoid her parents. Once she makes it to her room, she takes off her shirt and inspects the wound again. She quickly takes out extra fabric she has lying around and makes herself a bandage of sorts to bind her gash. She grabs a first aid kit from her dresser drawer. Since becoming Ladybug, she keeps a full first aid kit just for cases like this. Grabbing some anti-infection ointment, she dresses her wound, and just in time too.

"Marinette!" her mom calls. "Someone is here to see you!"

"Okay, mom! One minute!" Marinette calls down. She quickly puts her shirt back on as Tikki takes all the photos of Adrien off the walls. Marinette goes downstairs slowly so as not expose her injury. She sees Adrien talking to her parents. Adrien notices her and waves.

"Hey, Marinette!" he says.

"Hey, Adrien!" she replies. "Mom, dad, Adrien and I are going to work on our class project."

"Okay, honey. Have fun!" her mom says. Marinette leads Adrien upstairs to her room, taking it slowly but not too slow to give away her injury. She sits in her desk chair and Adrien pulls up another chair beside her.

"So, I was thinking that we can blend a few different elements into the costumes," Marinette says bringing out her sketch pad so Adrien can see. "We can use a bunch of different accessories and colors from previous things that I have around here to make the costumes parts of a pair. Uh, if that is okay with you, that is." Adrien smiles and nods.

"I agree. That is a great idea!" he says. "Costumes as a matching pair would be so cool." Marinette sighs in relief and smiles at Adrien. From a corner of the room that Adrien can't see, Tikki gives Marinette a smile. "Before we get into that though, I wanted to ask you about something I saw earlier." Marinette braces herself for Adrien to reveal that he knows she is Ladybug. "Were you talking to your purse on the bridge earlier?" Marinette inwardly breathes a sigh of relief. That, she could explain away with an excuse.

"Talking to my purse?" Marinette repeats. "I mean, I guess that could be true. Sometimes when I'm flustered or stressed, I talk to myself and psych myself into or out of different things. I was probably trying to remember where I put my prototypes for parts of the costume ideas." Marinette tries to smile convincingly but Adrien doesn't fully believe her. There were too many signs that pointed towards Marinette being Ladybug. She is always late to class, going to the bathroom when an Akuma appears during school, acting weird when asked about Ladybug, and now this new development of talking to her purse. Plus, Marinette even looks like Ladybug without a mask.

"Okay. That sounds fair enough," he replies. He would have rather told her that he didn't believe her, but he needed a way to catch her in case he was wrong. If he was wrong, he would be revealing himself to someone that wasn't his partner and he didn't want to put his friend in danger.

"Was that all you wanted to ask me?" Marinette asks. Adrien nods. Marinette shoots a glance up at Tikki who looks really relieved at how the conversation went down. Marinette looks back at Adrien. "Do you want to work on a sketch of your costume?"

"Sure," Adrien says with a smile.

"Perfect!" Marinette says. She reaches over to grab some paper from the back of her desk and winces, holding her side. She gives Adrien the paper and a pencil, and starts to sketch out her costume, still holding her side. Adrien looks at her with concern.

"Marinette?" he asks. "Are you okay?" He goes to place his hand on her side, but she swats it away.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just a minor injury from falling down the stairs," she says a little too quickly. Adrien just looks at her completely unconvinced.

"Marinette," he says. "What happened? I know it is not from falling down the stairs. That kind of wince equates to more than a fall, even if the fall was down a flight of stairs." Marinette pales and doesn't say anything. Her thoughts are racing as she tries to come up with an excuse.

"Uh, don't worry about it. Let's just get back to our assignment." She finally says. She turns back to her paper and drops her hand from her side. As she sketches, her face focuses more and more on her task. Adrien nods and goes back to his sketching. Pretty soon they both have really cool costume ideas sketched out. They look at the time and Adrien realizes that he has to go. Marinette walks Adrien to the door where his bodyguard is waiting. They say their goodbyes and Adrien leaves. Marinette runs back up to her room holding her side. "Tikki, that was way too close. What if he finds out who I am? That would put him in way too much danger! I can't… I don't… Tikki, what do I do?" Marinette panics.

"Just breathe Marinette," Tikki says. "Everything will be okay."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, I am so sorry I was late with publishing this chapter. My schoolwork really kicked in as the semester is coming to a close. I also had a little bit of a writer's block. I hope you can forgive me… Thank you to those who have written reviews. I appreciate you. I hope you enjoy! -BG**

The next morning, Adrien paces in his room, concerned. He thinks about what went down at Marinette's place the day before. Marinette didn't seem hurt on the bridge. That means she had to have been hurt in the hour it took to defeat Frost Bite. Adrien starts to piece the details together. With all of the clues and now this mysterious injury, he could not be more sure of Ladybug's true identity. Now he just has to confirm it. He looks at his ring, lost in thought. Plagg floats

"Plagg, claws out!" he says. In a flash of green light, Adrien transforms into Cat Noir. He opens the window and leaps out onto the rooftops. Eagerly, he heads toward Marinette's place. As he pauses outside of the window to her room, he hears Marinette yelp in pain which causes him to look in the window. She has her shirt pulled up to expose the makeshift fabric bandage. She slowly pulls off the fabric revealing a long and painful looking cut across her side underneath her ribs. Cat Noir goes to Marinette's trap door on her balcony and taps on it. "Marinette?" he calls. Shuffling is heard then Marinette opens the trap door and sees Cat Noir.

"Cat Noir?" she asks. She climbs outside, up onto the balcony and shuts the trap door. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just clearing my head," he lies. "But then, I noticed you were hurt through the window and came to check to see if you were okay." Marinette's eyes open wide in surprise.

"Uh, yeah I'm totally fine. It's just a scratch. Nothing to worry about." She says. Cat Noir looks at her.

"I know it's you, M'lady. You were not injured yesterday morning but after the fight with the akuma, now you are hurt in the exact same spot Ladybug was. Besides, there are way too many signs that points to your identity," says Cat Noir.

Marinette pales and gasps. Tikki flies out of her purse.

"Tikki! What are you doing?" Marinette says.

"Marinette, there's no point in hiding it anymore. He already knows," Tikki explains. Tikki turns to Cat Noir and Marinette sighs. "Hi, Cat Noir, my name is Tikki. It's nice to meet you." Cat Noir waves.

"Hey Tikki, it's nice to meet you too," he replies. He turns back to Marinette. "So, are you okay M'lady?"

"I'm fine, Kitty. It honestly is not as deep as it looks," Marinette tells him. "I will just need to keep the bandage on it for a few days, and it should be fine." Cat Noir takes her hand and helps her down into her room. Cat leads her to her desk chair.

"I'm sorry I was not there to protect you, M'lady," he apologizes. Marinette shrugs and then gasps.

"Wait! How do you know that I wasn't injured yesterday morning?" She asks. "The only people I saw yesterday were my classmates… in school." She looks up at Cat Noir with a shocked expression. "You… you're one of my classmates?!"

"Yes, Marinette," Cat Noir laughs. "Would you like me to show you which one?" Marinette's eyes widen again as she looks at Tikki. She asks a silent question to Tikki, who nods. Cat Noir sees Tikki's nod. He grins. "Plagg, claws in." In a flash of green light, he detransforms. Marinette covers her face with her hands. Adrien kneels in front of her and slowly takes her hands from her face. He laughs when he notices her eyes are also closed. "M'lady, you can open your eyes now." She takes a deep breath and opens her eyes. When she sees his face she blinks twice.

"A…Adrien?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, this chapter is updated to add in a few things that I forgot the first time around. **** I hope you enjoy! -BG**

Cat Noir's transformation falls with a flash of green light. Marinette sits down on her chair and closes her eyes with her hands. He kneels in front of her and gently takes her hands in his and removes them from her eyes. Marinette still keeps her eyes closed and tries to calm her breathing that started to quicken in panic.

"M'lady? Are you alright?" he asks her, concerned. She nods slowly and takes a deep breath.

"Yes Kitty, I'm okay," she replies. "I'm just a little nervous." He chuckles quietly and squeezes her hands reassuringly.

"Please open your eyes M'lady," he says softly. "I promise I won't bite." Marinette does as he asks and opens her eyes. She looks up at the face of the person kneeling in front of her. Her eyes go wide in shock. Her hand flies out of Adrien's and over her mouth as she gasps. Adrien runs his hands through his hair nervously. "Surprise? I know that I'm not… woah!" Marinette pulls Adrien forward and gives him a big hug, cutting off his words. She buries her face into his shoulder and tries to hold back the tears that are starting to form. He stiffens at first but then relaxes into her embrace and holds her close. Tikki and Plagg also hug in the background, happy to finally be together again. Marinette releases Adrien and wipes her eyes. Adrien's smile melts into a worried frown. "Marinette? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she answers. "Absolutely nothing."

"But then, why are you crying?" he asks.

"Relief, silly kitty," she says with a smile. "I'm just so relieved that it is you." Adrien's face lights up and he wraps her into another hug. She hugs him back and giggles. He pulls back and grins.

"So, M'lady, now that we both know who we are, will you tell me who this other boy is?" He asks with a smirk on his face. "I would like to know who my competition for your heart is." Marinette's face goes bright red like her ladybug costume.

"I… Uh… It… Um…." She starts to stammer. She clears her throat and looks at her feet. "You." Adrien blinks.

"What?" he whispers, confused. "Me?" Marinette nods while still looking at the ground.

"I pushed Cat Noir away as Ladybug because Marinette was in love with Adrien," she says, nervously playing with her hair. Adrien's eyes go wide. His thoughts run wild as he gets up and looks out the window of Marinette's room. Marinette notices his actions and starts to cry softly not wanting to let him know. She starts to go to her balcony to give him some space but as soon as she stands up her legs give out and she falls. She braces for the painful impact of the ground but it never comes as strong hands catch her. She looks up at the face that is inches from hers. Hurt and confused she starts to ask him a question when he presses his lips to hers silencing her. Her shock is brief then she kisses him back wrapping her hands around his neck. He, in turn, squeezes her tighter and closer. They stay like this for what feels like forever until they separate breathless. His emerald green eyes gaze longingly into her ocean blue ones. Marinette's trap door leading to the rest of the house is knocked on. They both jump, brought back to Earth by a soft voice.

"Marinette honey?" her mom asks. "Are you awake yet? We need a little help in the bakery."

"Okay, mom!" Marinette calls down to her mother. "I'll be down in a moment." She looks to Adrien who is still holding her in his arms. "That would be my cue to go downstairs, Kitty." His face flushes as he releases her.

"Then I will be on my way," he says with a bow. "Patrol still on tonight?" She smiles.

"Yes, Kitty," she replies. "I'll meet you at the Eiffel Tower." He grins and calls for his transformation.

"Until tonight, M'lady," he declares softly. He then kisses her hand and leaps out of her room and vaults away.

"Until tonight, Kitty," Marinette sighs happily.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, here is chapter 7! The previous chapter was updated with a few bits of things that I forgot. I hope you enjoy! -BG**

That night around 9 Marinette walks into her room after helping her parents close up the bakery. They weren't kidding when they said they needed help. She was running the counter while both her parents baked in the back. The line had been out the door. She collapses into her desk chair. Tikki floats up beside her.

"That was a busy afternoon you had," Tikki comments. Marinette nods.

"That was the busiest I have seen it this year, Tikki," Marinette responds. "I can only imagine what it will look like around Christmas time." Tikki's eyes widen.

"Oh yeah!" Tikki says. "That will be a rough time indeed." Marinette looks at the time on her computer. It reads 9:03pm.

"Crap!" Marinette shouts. "I'm late for patrol!" Tikki giggles at her chosen. "Tikki, spots on!" One flash of pink light later and Ladybug leaps out of Marinette's trap door to her balcony. She uses her yo-yo and flies across Paris to the Eiffel Tower where Cat Noir is waiting for her. She reaches the meeting spot her and Cat arranged when they first started out 3 years ago. She lands softly and bends over to catch her breath. Cat Noir looks up from his perch and smiles.

"Hey, M'lady!" he greets her. Ladybug stands upright and smiles back.

"Hey yourself, Kitty," she sasses back. Cat Noir just grins at her. "Where do you want to patrol tonight?"

"I was kinda wanting to talk about earlier some more if that's okay," Cat Noir replies nervously. He shifts his weight from one foot to another. Ladybug giggles and takes a seat at the edge of the platform hanging her legs over the edge. She pats the floor beside her.

"Okay, Kitty," Ladybug says with a smile. Cat Noir immediately relaxes and takes his spot beside her. "What's on your mind?"

"Well," Cat begins. "What happens now?" Ladybug frowns.

"What do you mean?" she asks back, confused.

"I mean, we know our identities now," Cat explains. "What happens now? Do we have to give our miraculouses back?" Ladybug leans back on her hands and thinks for a moment.

"I don't think that we have to give our miraculouses up now that we know who we are," Ladybug says. "I can always ask Master Fu about it but I am sure that we should be fine." She places a hand over Cat Noir's heart. "We just have to be careful about what happens in our civilian lives. Hawk Moth is still out there and we need to be vigilant." Cat Noir smiles at her. The amount of love in his eyes nearly overwhelms her as she looks deep into them. He covers her hand with his.

"So does this mean we can… um… I mean…. What I'm trying to say is..." Cat stutters and runs his hand through his hair nervously. Ladybug giggles lovingly and takes his hand in hers and intertwines their fingers.

"Yes, Cat?" she asks innocently. She manages to keep a smirk off her face as her Kitty continues.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he finally says.

"Who is talking to who?" she asks mischievously. "Adrien to Marinette or Cat Noir to Ladybug?" He blinks.

"Claws in," he calls to Plagg. A green light flashes before Adrien appears where Cat Noir was. He looks at Ladybug and she calls for her detransformation.

"Spots off," she calls to Tikki. "We should get away from the ledge in case anyone can see us." Marinette starts to stand up but Adrien beats her and offers her his hand. She takes it and stands with Adrien's help. They both move towards the center of the tower and out of sight.

"Marinette, will you be my girlfriend," Adrien asks her. She smiles back at him and kisses his cheek.

"Of course, silly Kitty," she answers. Adrien grins. He picks her up and spins her around. He sets her down and puts his forehead against hers. They stay like that for a while lost in each other's eyes. Adrien leans down and kisses Marinette. Their first as a couple. The kiss evolves into a second and third. They separate breathless and hug each other. The new couple embraces for a time before screams of panic are heard in the distance. They pull apart and call their transformations.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette calls.

"Plagg, claw out!" Adrien calls. The flashes of pink and green light up the sky as Ladybug and Cat Noir replace Marinette and Adrien. They make their way towards the sounds of panicked people and stop once they see the sight of a super tiny Akuma. Ladybug and Cat Noir look at each other and head into battle. It's over quickly and Ladybug releases the purified butterfly. Her earrings beep.

"Cat Noir, can you take this little fella home?" Ladybug asks.

"Sure thing, Bugaboo," he responds.

"Thanks, Kitty," she tells him. "Bug out!" She swings away back to her house and detransforms outside on her balcony. Marinette climbs down into her room and settles into her bed for the night. She immediately drifts off to sleep dreaming about her new relationship. Unbenounced to her, there is a dark figure waiting for their moment to strike.

**Hey guys! I'm having trouble figuring out where I want this to go. So, it may take a little longer to publish new chapters. Rest assured, I will complete this. Thank you to those who have given me reviews! They are greatly appreciated! - BG**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! Sorry for such a late update. The holidays have been nuts and I completely forgot where I wanted to take this story. XD I figured it out now though so I will try to update weekly as I get back into the groove of things. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. Thank you to those that have left me reviews. You guys are awesome! I hope you enjoy chapter 8! -BG**

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* Marinette's alarm blares early Monday morning. She groans and opens her eyes slowly. She is not ready to face the day ahead of her, especially with the dance coming up really soon. Tikki flies to her and nuzzles her cheek.

"Come on, Marinette!" Tikki says excitedly. "You have to tell Alya what happened this weekend!" Marinette bolts upright in her bed, wide awake.

"OH MY GOSH ALYA!" Marinette yells. "SHE'S GONNA KILL ME FOR NOT TELLING HER!" Tikki just giggles.

"Oh Marinette," Tikki starts. "Just text her that you have big news to tell her when you get to school."

"You know, Tikki, that's not a bad idea," Marinette says after thinking it over. She grabs her phone from her desk and types out a quick message to Alya.

_M: Hey girl! I have something I gotta talk to you about before school today! _

_A: Yaus girl! See you soon!_

_M: Lol see you soon._

Marinette puts her phone down and gets out of bed. She goes to her closet and dresses in a cute flowy pink top with a bow in the center on the neckline, black skinny jeans, and cream-colored flats. Smiling at herself in the mirror, she puts on a bit of eyeliner and mascara. Tikki helps Marinette braid her hair into a half-up-half-down wavy look and adds a small pink flower clip to her hairstyle. Marinette grabs a matching purse and opens it so Tikki can hide inside. She closes the purse and heads downstairs for breakfast. Noticing the time on the microwave, Marinette realizes that she is way early. This is perfect so she can actually talk to Alya before school starts. She grabs a few cookies and slips them into her purse for Tikki. Marinette also grabs a few treats for her friends. She quickly eats one and goes downstairs into the bakery to kiss her parents goodbye.

"Bye, mom!" Marinette yells from the door. "Bye, dad!" She races out the door and to the school. Once she arrives, she notices that she is the first one from their friend group there. Sighing, she sits on the stone railing at the beginning of the staircase. She pulls out her sketchpad and starts writing down measurement guesses for her and Adrien's costumes. She resketches hers and makes a few changes to the appearance. She is so lost in her drawing that she doesn't realize that there is a person sitting next to her. She looks up and sees Adrien sitting there and smiles brightly.

"Hey, Princess," Adrien says with a smile just as bright as hers.

"Hey yourself, Sunshine," she says back.

"Whatcha workin' on?" he asks, looking at her sketch.

"Oh, I'm just redrawing my idea for my costume," she replies. "I wanted to make a few changes before we actually started sewing them." Marinette showed Adrien the alterations she made as well as her guesses for measurements. "We should get together a few days after school to work on measurements and the actual sewing part. That way we can knock out the project well in advance."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Adrien muses. "What days did you have in mind?"

"Um, well, what works with your schedule the best?" She askes in reply. "I'm pretty free after school minus other homework." Adrien smiles at her.

"I actually have this entire week after school free," he says. Marinette's eyes widen in surprise.

"What?" she gasps. "How did you manage that?" Her confused look makes Adrien chuckle.

"I told Nathalie that I had a really important project that I needed to work on with my partner after school that was due by next week," he says taking one of her hands in his. "I originally planned it to spend time with my amazing girlfriend, but then I realized that it wasn't a lie either way because I do have an important project due by next weekend and my partner just so happens to be my girlfriend." He takes her sketchpad and pencil and puts it into her bag. Then, he leans back and stands up, pulling her with him. She just smiles up at him.

"What are you doing?" she asks nervously.

"This," he says leaning in towards her. Their lips meet and Marinette stiffens but almost immediately relaxes into him and runs her fingers through his hair. His arms wrap around her waist pulling her closer and she obliges.

"Ah-hem!" A voice causes them to separate. Adrien manages to see a flash of reddish-brown hair before his girlfriend is yanked from his grasp and drug over to the other side of the staircase. Nino stands awkwardly by Adrien.

"'Sup," he says, trying to break the tension. Adrien runs his hands through his hair nervously.

"Uh, hey, Nino," he replies. "How is the project going with your partner?" Nino smirks.

"Nuh-uh, dude," Nino states. "You aren't going to change the subject that easily. I gotta know what happened. Spill it, dude." Adrien sighs.

"Marinette and I are dating," Adrien tells him. "What happened was you saw me kissing my girlfriend." Nino just laughs.

"Yeah right, dude," Nino scoffs. "Like you would date someone after hardly noticing them for years. Come on. Are you trying to prank Alya and me? Adrien looks at Marinette and Alya over across the stairs. She meets his eyes and mouths 'prank' while Alya is looking over at Nino. Immediately he understands and nods. They had been working together so well as Ladybug and Cat Noir that they were able to communicate with very little spoken words. It came in very handy during an Akuma attack. Alya and Nino didn't know that though so Marinette suggesting they go along with Alya and Nino's suggestion would throw them off the trail. Adrien turns back to Nino and sighs.

"Alright, you caught us," Adrien admits. "Marinette and I thought it would be funny to make you guys think we were dating. So when I saw you walking up I pulled her into that kiss to be overly dramatic." Nino laughs at this.

"You guys are hilarious, really," Nino says between laughs. "You really thought you could fool us by pretending to date? We know you both better than that. You haven't really looked at Marinette as more than a friend in the years that you've known her and she can barely talk straight around you." Adrien tries his best to look sheepish.

"I guess I really didn't think about it that way," Adrien says after a moment. "She has gotten a lot better at talking to me. We are partners for the costume project after all."

"Oh, that's convenient for her," Nino mutters under his breath.

"What?" Adrien asks confused.

"Nothing, dude," Nino replies. "Let's go see what the girls are talking about over there. Oh, and grab Marinette's bag, will you? She looks stressed." They walk over to the girls just as Alya and Marinette stop talking. Marinette is glaring at Alya while Alya just smirks at her best friend.

"What was that all about?" Adrien asks. Alya snorts and shoots a glare at him while Marinette just sighs.

"She's upset that we attempted to trick them into thinking that we are dating," Marinette explains. Adrien nods his head in understanding. He is about to say more when the warning bell rings. Alya drags Marinette into class without a word. Nino just smirks at Adrien whose face is one of confusion.

"You are so in for it, dude," Nino states. "Alya will have it out for you now." Adrien inwardly panics. He didn't think Alya would take this as she did. Granted, he thought that they were actually dating. Taking his seat in the classroom he wonders what Marinette told Alya about their "prank". The girls are whispering heatedly behind him and Nino but Adrien can't make out what they are saying. Just as the bell rings an explosion is heard in the distance. The class freaks out and runs to the door to head to a safe place. Alya tries to drag Marinette with her but Adrien beats her to it and poor Marinette stumbles out of the classroom after Adrien. He pulls Marinette into the locker room into the back corner after having lost Alya and Nino. Before he can ask her what happened with Alya, she glares at him and calls her transformation.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette calls. The magic pink light flashes replacing her with her alter ego. Ladybug then leaps out of the windows and towards the commotion. Adrien sighs defeatedly and calls for his own transformation.

"Plagg, claws out!" he calls. The familiar magic green light flashes and replaces him with his alter ego. Cat Noir then jumps out of the window after Ladybug trying to figure out what happened between her and Alya.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Here is chapter 9! I hope you enjoy! -BG**

Ladybug and Cat Noir defeat the Akumatized person rather quickly. They raced back towards the school before Cat Noir stopped Ladybug.

"Ladybug, wait!" he called desperately. Ladybug stopped on a roof near the school and faced him. She looked at him annoyed. "What happened? Was it something I said?" Ladybug sighs and shakes her head.

"No, Kitty," she replies. "It's nothing." Cat Noir frowns.

"Obviously it's something," he retorts. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be annoyed with me." Ladybug looks at Cat with a playful smirk. Right as she is about to respond, her earrings beep. She instinctively brings her hand to her ear.

"Can it wait until after school?" she asks. "I'm about to transform back and I'd rather not have the world knowing who I am. This conversation is important though, so I promise that I won't forget." Cat Noir sighs and nods.

"Just," he starts. "Please tell me if it is me or something else." Ladybug swings her yoyo and grabs onto a tower near the school building.

"Its something else, Kitty," she says. Ladybug then pulls on her yoyo and flies off towards the school. Cat Noir follows behind vaulting with his stick. They make it into the locker room and detransform just in time. Marinette feeds Tikki a cookie as she hides in Marinette's purse. Adrien hands Plagg his cheese before he dives into Adrien's pocket. Marinette signals for Adrien to go out first and she follows not too far behind. Inwardly groaning, they both sit at their seats in class and wait for the day to be over.

**Time Skip**

The final bell rings, signaling the end of the day. Adrien is antsy as he waits for Marinette. He catches sight of her talking with Alya as they walk towards the doors. He walks to the bottom of the stairs and leans against the railing closest to the direction that he knows Marinette will go to go home. Female voices get louder as Alya and Marinette get closer. He resists the urge to turn around.

"Bye, Alya!" Marinette says to her best friend. "Good luck on your project!" She gently touches Adrien's shoulder to let him know that she is there. "You ready?" she asks him quietly. He nods and they walk towards the bakery. They reach the doors and Adrien opens the door for Marinette to enter first. She giggles and heads inside. He follows her. She greets her parents and explains that she has a project to work on with Adrien. Grabbing his hand they head upstairs to her room. Once they reach her room they set their school stuff down and set up their work areas on Marinette's desk. Plagg and Tikki zip out of hiding and head up to Tikki's little area by Marinette's bed leaving their owners to figure out things. Setting up the last of their work station stuff, Adrien looks at Marinette to find she's already looking at him. She pulls him into a hug with tears building in her eyes. He hugs her back confused.

"What's wrong, Princess?" he asks softly. She pulls away slightly and wipes her eyes.

"This time, it really is nothing," she says with a giggle. "I'm just really sorry that I hurt you earlier by glaring at you. Alya said some things that really got to me and then we had to deal with the Akuma attack." She sighs and backs away from him, looking at the floor. "I thought things that I know now are completely false. I'm so sorry." Adrien takes in what she said and lifts her chin with his hand. He pulls her close again and presses his lips to hers gently as if to reassure her that she didn't hurt him. They pull apart and he hugs her again.

"You didn't hurt me, Princess," he says. She relaxes into him at his words. "I am curious though. What happened between you and Alya this morning? She seems really angry."

"She was," Marinette tells him. "She was angry because she thought something happened between us that I didn't tell her about but then she realized that I haven't really been able to talk to you too well and then after not really noticing me as anything more than a friend, you suddenly are beside me kissing me as if it was a normal thing to do. She just assumed that it was a prank or a dare or something like that. That's when she looked over at Nino to see if he was getting anything out of you. I met your eyes and mouthed prank so you knew to just play along. This way we could give ourselves more time to figure out where to go from there. We, ah, really didn't think everything through." She sits at her desk and starts pulling fabric from a bag as she talks. Adrien does the same and they get to work on their costumes as she continues to explain what happened. "When Alya turns back to me she just glared at me until you guys came over. Then during class, she kept hissing at me about why I wasn't paying attention like normal and why I wasn't even focused on you like I normally am when I zone out. I tried to tell her that I was just thinking about the project but she cut me off and was upset that she had to learn about you being my partner from Nino. I just gave up from there. She'll cool off tonight and it will be like nothing happened tomorrow but still."

"Sound's like you had a rough day with all this," Adrien says after she finishes. "I honestly didn't think Alya would react like she did or I would have tried harder to act normal. You are right that we didn't think it through first. We have to have some sort of plan in place so people don't get too suspicious." She nods and finishes up the first part of her costume. He finishes the first part of his costume, a little after her. They concede to take a quick break to get food. Adrien calls Nathalie to ask to stay over for dinner. Surprisingly she says yes. They grab some snacks and head back upstairs. Marinette brings a plate of camembert and chocolate chip cookies for the kwamis and Adrien brings up a tray of treats for the two of them. They sit in comfortable silence as they eat. Eventually, they get back to work and both nearly finish their costumes. Adrien soon has to leave so she walks him out to his car. They hug briefly and promise to meet up later that night for patrol to discuss a plan for their relationship.

**I am sad to say that this fanfic will be coming to an end soon... But, I will be starting another story once this one concludes! I haven't decided on whether I was to do something mafia-related or fairytale-related but it will still be a fun adventure! Until next time! -BG**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, here is chapter 10! I apologize in advance for the short chapter. I'm currently working on the next chapter right not so I'll hopefully have the next one out today or tomorrow. I hope you enjoy! -BG**

Around 9 that night, Marinette calls Tikki to transform into Ladybug. She then swings across Paris with her yoyo and lands with a soft thud on the Eiffel Tower. Ladybug had been thinking about everything that happened earlier that day. It wasn't like Alya to get so angry over something like this. Her best friend was supposed to have been happy for her. She had noticed Alya hanging around that new girl Lila more than before. Maybe that had something to do with it? Ladybug sighs and falls to her knees. She didn't want to lose all her friends again. Back when Chloe was still really mean Marinette had lost nearly all of her friends except Nino. She didn't know Alya and Adrien back then. Ladybug shifts and hugs her knees to her chest and tries to hold back her tears. Cat Noir was going to show up any minutes now and she needed to stay strong and not let him know how much this was affecting her. She slowly gets up and swings up to the tallest point of the structure. She leans out into the air while one hand grasps the metal point to secure her from falling. Closing her eyes, Ladybug takes a deep breath and lets the wind try her face. The party was nearing closer and closer. It was just three days away. She let those thoughts wash over her and a quiet thump was heard below her. Cat Noir. She takes her yoyo and swings around the city looking for potential victims and just to get out of her own head.

Cat Noir notices Ladybug swing across the city but he doesn't follow her. He knows enough to just let her go. Vaulting away to the other side of the city, he sighs to himself. He knew that this whole situation was bothering her more than she was letting on. The tears from earlier were more than enough proof. He quickly finishes his half of patrol and vaults back toward the Eiffel Tower. He arrives before Ladybug so he sits on the edge of the platform. Lost in thought he doesn't hear his lady arrive and sit next to him. She leans into his side and this jars him from his trance. Cat wraps his arm around Ladybug and pulls her closer. Ladybug sighs.

"Hey, Kitty," she says with guilt in her voice.

"Hey, Bugaboo," he responds.

"I'm sorry that I just swung away without talking to you first," she apologizes. Cat Noir pulls her into his lap and hugs her tightly.

"There's no need to apologize," he tells her. "You needed some space to get out of your own thoughts and that's okay. I need to do that sometimes too." He smiles at her not letting go. She looks back into his eyes and sighs in relief.

"We do need to come up with a plan for our relationship thought," She says sadly. "As much fun as this is, we should be able to do this in normal life rather than have to hide up here."

"I understand, M'lady," he agrees. "What is your plan, oh wise one?" She giggles at that and kisses his cheek. Standing up, she pulls him to his feet.

"I think we should.." she tells him the plan and pulls him in for a kiss. He gladly returns the kiss. They part and head their separate ways, ready for what the next few days will bring.

**Hey guys! Thank you to those who have given me reviews! They are greatly appreciated! Also thank you to those who have stuck with me through this story! It will be finally wrapping up here within the next 3-4 chapters! You guys are amazing! - BG**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys, here is chapter 11! I hope you enjoy! -BG**

he next day, Marinette is awake an hour earlier than normal. Even Tikki is surprised. As Marinette pulls out her outfit for the day, Tikki flies over and helps with her hair. Marinette changes into a soft blush pink dress that falls just below her knees. This dress was one she made herself. She even added a small ladybug pattern around the bottom of the skirt to hint at her alter ego. Marinette grabs a pair of soft blush pink flats and a matching purse. Tikki left Marinette's hair down and added soft waves. Marinette descended the stairs without tripping or falling. She grabs a handful of cookies for Tikki and puts them in her purse. Bidding goodbye to her parents, Marinette skips to school.

"Today is going to be a good day!" she tells Tikki as the little kwami phases into her chosen's purse.

"I agree, Marinette!" Tikki replies excitedly. Marinette arrives at school just as Nino and Alya do. However, instead of standing in their usual spot, they go inside and sit with Lila. This leaves Marinette puzzled as to what happened. She walks up to them smiling and waves.

"Hey, guys!" she greets them. Instead of greeting her back they just glare at her. "What's up?" At this, Lila breaks into sobs and runs to the bathroom.

"Way to go Marinette," Alya sneers. "First you try to prank everyone by stealing Lila's boyfriend and now this. What did Lila ever do to you?" She stomps off to find Lila. Marinette just stands there with her eyes wide.

"What?" she asks Nino quietly. He just shakes his head at her in disappointment and walks away in the direction that Lila and Alya went. All alone, Marinette stands awkwardly in the middle of the school courtyard as other students shoot glares her way. She lowers her head and walks to the classroom. Sitting at her seat, she pulls her sketchbook out and starts to sketch a new design. The dress she comes up with is based on Cat Noir and has little aspects of Ladybug in the design. As she finishes up the finishing touches the rest of the class starts filling in. Marinette was sure that Adrien would come earlier to start implementing their plan but shrugs it off thinking that his father held him up somehow. A cough startles her out of her thoughts. Looking up, she sees Lila standing over her.

"You're in my seat," Lila says after a pause. Marinette looks back confused.

"But this has always been my seat," she replies. Her thoughts are brought back to the first day of the school year when she said this same thing to Chloe. Bringing herself back into reality, she goes back to her sketching. Lila grabs Marinette's sketchbook and throws it to the back of the room.

"I said, you are in my seat," Lila growls. "Now go get your sketchbook." Sighing, Marinette ducks past Lila and grabs her sketchbook off the floor. The whole class laughs and Lila dumps Marinette's stuff on the floor. Holding back tears, she collects her stuff and goes to the seat in the back of the room. Before she gets there, someone sticks their foot out and trips her. Her stuff goes flying to the floor again. Marinette sniffles and collects her things again. She heads back to the seat before anything else can happen. Sighing again, she flips a page in her book and starts to sketch darker designs, waiting for class to start.

Adrien arrives at school and sees Marinette walk over to Nino, Alya, and Lila. He watched her wave and greet them but they don't greet her back. They just glare at her. Then Lila starts sobbing and runs away. He doesn't hear the exchange between the other three but notices Alya storm towards where Lila went and Nino shaking his head and walking away. He is about to go over to Marinette so she is not all alone but is intercepted by a now dry faced Lila, miffed Alya and quiet Nino. They pull him over towards another table and start asking questions. Lila hangs on his arm and tries to get closer to him but he pushes her away. Alya notices this and scowls at him.

"What the heck, Agreste?" she growls. "Why did you push your girlfriend away?" My eyes widen.

"Girlfriend?" he asks back, confused. "I don't have a girlfriend yet, Alya." Lila chokes and clings to his arm again.

"You don't remember me?" she asks, sounding hurt. "That darn Akuma." Alya and Nino look at her sympathetically.

"What Akuma?" he responds. "I have never had a girlfriend, per my father's rules. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get to class." He gets up to leave but Nino follows him. Adrien notices and heads to the bathroom.

"Dude," Nino says. "What is up with you? First, you try to prank us by thinking that Marinette is your girlfriend and now you push your actual girlfriend away? You gotta pull yourself together. This isn't like you at all." With that, Nino turns and walks away without giving Adrien a chance to defend himself. Adrien turns to the mirror and splashes himself in the face with water. What just happened? He hears the warning bell ring and runs to get to class. Once there, he walks into the room and notices that the desk arrangements have changed. Alya and Nino are in the front row where he normally sits and Lila is in Marinette's seat. Frowning he looks to the back of the room to see Marinette, alone in the back of the room, sketching her frustrations out. He looks over at Lila who has a smug look on her face. Ignoring her, he walks to the back of the room to Marinette.

"May I sit here?" he asks her. Startled she looks up at him and gives a small smile.

"I thought you'd sit with your 'girlfriend'," she says emphasizing 'girlfriend'. Adrien smiles.

"I am," he quietly replies with a smile. Her eyes widen in remembrance and she smirks.

"Well then," she retorts. "Have a seat loverboy." He laughs as she scoots over to allow him to sit down. She playfully hits his arm and he, in turn, kisses her cheek. With the plan brought to her mind again, she blushes and softly touches her cheek. Adrien is about to comment but the teacher walks into the room and starts the class. He looks over at Marinette and smiles. Miss Bustier gets the class's attention and frowns briefly at the new seating arrangements. Recovering quickly she makes an announcement.

"The Halloween party is in two days so I want each pair to present their costumes the day of," she tells the class. "Because the deadline is approaching quickly we will be working on the projects during class time tomorrow. If you would like them to remain a surprise, you can find a place around the school to work on them with your partner." The class starts to murmur about this. "However, since I did not give enough notice for you to work on the project during class today, we will all be decorating the courtyard for the party." The class gathers their things and walks towards the courtyard. Well, everyone except for Marinette, Adrien, and Lila. Lila heads back to where Adrien and Marinette are whispering.

"May I speak to Marinette for a moment Adrien?" she asks sweetly. Adrien looks to Marinette who nods. Adrien squeezes her arm and walks out of the room and waits outside the door. He hears a muffled argument between the two girls. Before he can open the door to see what happened, Lila rushes out in tears. She runs across the courtyard where the whole class can see her cry and runs to the bathroom. The whole class looks over to Adrien and the open door. He has no idea what to say before he hears Marinette's soft cries from the classroom. Rushing inside and shutting the door he notices her on the floor. Around her lies her sketchpad or at least what is left of it. Her sketching pencils are all broken in half and thrown about the room. All of her stuff was either ripped or broken completely and scattered around the room. Heartbroken for her, Adrien kneels beside her and gently helps her sit up. She grabs her ankle and winces slightly before remembering that Adrien is right next to her. She immediately releases her ankle and gathers all of her stuff. Adrien grabs what he can and they both stuff her torn backpack with everything that can't be fixed. He leans down and helps her stand. As she does, he notices her favor her left leg. Marinette sits down on the bench she sat at for class as Adrien throws away her broken things. He wraps his arm around her and brings her into a hug. She returns it and quietly cries into his shoulder.

"What happened, Princess?" he asks quietly after he hears her calm down. She looks up at him. Her ocean-blue eyes are tinged with red from crying. She sighs and tells him about what happened this morning before class, including when Lila kicked her out of her seat to sit next to him. When he asks about the argument she looks down and tells him that it wasn't really an argument but more of Lila just threatening her and her trying to defend herself. He opens his mouth to speak but she holds a finger to his lips. She tells him that when she told Lila that Adrien and she were actually dating, Lila lost it. She shoved Marinette out of her seat and proceeded to rip everything Marinette had to shreds as Marinette pleaded with her to stop. As Marinette tried to escape Lila shoved her down the stairs and walked to the door with a smirk on her face and ran out fake crying, leaving Marinette all alone and injured. Adrien wrapped Marinette in another hug and worked to control his anger.

"Please don't do anything stupid, Kitty," she pleads with him. He nods.

"I won't, Princess," he promises her. He looks towards the door and sighs. "As much I want to hide in here from the jerks we used to call friends, we probably need to get out there and help before something worse happens." Marinette nods.

"Yeah," she agrees. "Let's go."

***le magical time skip***

The rest of the day passed by with no more incidents. Lila went home claiming to be emotionally disturbed by her "argument" with Marinette. Adrien assumed this was just to escape from doing any work. He was relieved that Marinette would be left alone for the rest of the day. He was right more or less. The class finished the set up before the day was scheduled to be over so they all were let out to go home early. At the dismissal of the class, Marinette limp-runs to her locker to avoid the rest of the class but she is tripped by someone before she reaches the door. She falls on the floor hurting her ankle even more. Before Adrien can reach her she gets up and makes it to her locker. She grabs her spare sketchbook and stuffs it into her purse. Tikki flies out and hugs Marinette's cheek.

"Tikki, spots on!" she calls. One flash of pink light later and she transforms into Ladybug. Ladybug swings out the open window of the locker room and towards the Eiffel Tower. It is the one place that she can feel free from everything unless she is fighting an Akuma with Cat Noir. Ladybug lands one-footed on the top deck and limps to the railing. She leans on the edge and lets the tears fall. The pain of the bullying and her ankle overwhelm her. A soft thud is heard from behind her. Her ankle finally gives out and she collapses but before she hits the ground, arms wrap around her waist and catch her. She looks up at and sees her partner's face blurred from tears. He brings her closer and wraps her into a big hug. Ladybug hugs back.

"Are you alright, M'lady?" he asks her with a worried expression.

"Honestly Cat, no," she replies quietly. "I thought today would be a good one but I didn't expect that Lila could manipulate people even better than Chloe did. I don't want to lose my friends but it looks like I already have." Cat Noir pulls her closer and presses his lips to hers. She immediately returns the kiss and runs her hands through his hair. One kiss becomes two and then three until they part breathless. Cat gently rests his hand on her side.

"How is your side?" he asks hoping to distract her. She smiles.

"All healed as of a week ago," she tells him. He grins and kisses her cheek. "Now I just have to worry about my ankle."

"You'll be back on your feet before the dance," Cat says. "Tikki should be able to help with that. Considering how fast your side healed, I would be surprised if she wasn't speeding up the process." Ladybug smiled.

"She has helped a lot with the healing process," she admits.

"Now," Cat says. "We should be getting you home. I'm sure your parents are worried about you. It is getting late." Ladybug looks at the sky to see that the sun has nearly set. She must have been in thought longer than she realized and kissing Cat Noir also made the time pass faster. "You might want to detransform first though." Ladybug looks at her suit and giggles.

"Probably," she laughs. "Spots off!" A pink light flashes and Marinette replaces Ladybug. Cat Noir picks her up bridal style and leaps back towards her house.

**OMG 12k views! You guys are awesome! Thank you so much! This means so much that you all like this story so much. I think my next story will be a fanfiction about Marinette as a princess. I know this might be a bit overdone but I think it is a fun story idea! Love you guys! -BG**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys, here is chapter 12 a little early! It is a little angsty and I had difficulty writing this chapter because of the content. So, just a heads up. It might be a painful read. I hope you enjoy! -BG**

The day of the dance arrives faster than Marinette thought it would. She has her dress already packed in a garment bag along with the matching shoes and accessories. Since they have to present their costumes Miss Bustier moved their class time to right before the dance. This way the students can go straight to the courtyard instead of having to go home to change. Miss Bustier also gave students an hour and a half to make last-minute changes and prepare for the presentation. Lila has been no help to Marinette's self-confidence. In a span of three days, Lila had successfully pulled all of Marinette's friends away from her. All with extravagant lies. Marinette was heartbroken. She had wanted to get ready for the dance with Alya but now, she was excluded entirely from the new friend group Lila had made. Only Adrien had stayed loyal to her. Adrien. Marinette closes her eyes and imagines the face of her love. The thought of him makes her heart flutter. Their plan worked like a charm. He had slowly (well as slowly as he could in three days) started to show signs of falling for the quiet, brave and clumsy girl who sat beside him in class. Despite the attempts from Lila and Chloe to drag him away, he always stayed near Marinette. It was sweet, really. Now, all they have left to do is place the final step in motion at the party.

"Hurry, Tikki," Marinette says to her little Kwami. "I don't want to be late on the day of the costume reveals!" Tikki flies into Marinette's open purse and settles in for the day. Knowing that it will be a long day, Marinette grabs extra cookies for Tikki to snack on during the day on her way out the door. She rushes across the street to the school and walks inside. Checking the time, she realizes that she is an hour early so she heads to the classroom. Once in her seat, Marinette pulls out her sketchbook while waiting for Adrien. She sketches an image this time rather than an outfit. Her hands fly across the page shading and coloring in the lines. As she is drawing, she doesn't notice Lila sneak into the room and lock the door. Lila manages to get behind Marinette without the young designer noticing. Marinette finishes the sketch of her former friend group. Alya, Nino, herself and Adrien are shown to be hugging and laughing. Her heart aches at the memories she wishes were still a reality. She sets her sketchpad and pencils down to run to the bathroom. Lila sees her chance to pounce and snatches the sketchpad. Marinette tries to open the door only to find it locked. Confused she looks to go back to her desk, only to find Lila standing there ripping pages out of the book. Shocked Marinette tries to run to save her sketches but her injured ankle is too wobbly and she slips on the water that Lila had purposely spilled on the stairs. Marinette falls to the ground and rolls into the teacher's desk. As she tries to get up, Lila suddenly appears right next to her and pushes the young designer back down with the heel of her stiletto and steps on Marinette's shoulder. Marinette cries out in pain as the point pierces her skin. The pain in her ankle and shoulder are almost unbearable. Tears blur her vision but she sees Lila surrounded by black and purple bubbles. After a second Marinette realizes that the girl has transformed into a villain.

"You're so weak you stupid girl," The newly akumatized Lila hisses, digging her heel further into Marinette's shoulder. She screams in agony as Lila just laughs. "You can't even protect yourself. So pathetic. Your friends turned on you so easily. All I did was tell them exactly what they wanted to hear and it worked like a charm. Now, you have nobody and once Adrien is mine you really will be all alone."

"I will never be alone!" Marinette weakly yells back. "Adrien loves me and so do my parents! You can never take them from me!" Lila smirks and digs her heel in further causing another scream from Marinette. At this point, her entire heel is in Marinette's shoulder. Marinette starts to see black spots in her vision from the blood loss. Lila twists her foot and breaks the heel so it stays firmly in the poor girl.

"So while I leave you here to die, I'm going to go claim Adrien for myself! Bye loser!" Lila flies out of a window shattering the glass on top of Marinette. Dizzy from the blood loss, Marinette tries to get up but falls down again.

"Cataclysm!" a voice calls. Marinette's vision starts to fade to black and she sees a familiar face appear in front of her. Before she can speak, she slips into unconsciousness.

***POV Switch***

Adrien is in a complete panic. He listened to the whole conversation between the girls. His heart is breaking for his princess. Running to an empty classroom, he lets Plagg fly out of his jacket. He shakily sits down at a desk and starts crying into his hands. Plagg flies over and sits on his chosen's shoulder. He purrs into Adrien'd neck to help him calm down.

"Kid, you gotta calm down," Plagg reasons. "You won't do her any good like this. You can cry over her later when she is in your arms. Right now, you gotta get to her to make sure she is okay and you might have to use her Miraculous if she can't fight." Adrien nods and wipes his eyes.

"You're right, Plagg," Adrien agrees. "I won't do her any good like this." Plagg floats closer to him.

"So what are you waiting for?" Plagg asks. Adrien grins.

"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien calls. One flash of green light later and Adrien is replaced by Cat Noir. The cat superhero bounds out of the classroom and over to the one Marinette is trapped in. "Cataclysm!" He touches his hand, now swirling with destructive power, to the door and it turns to ash in seconds. He runs over to Marinette who is lying in a very scary pool of blood, glass, and water. He holds her close and wipes the tears from her cheeks. She opens her mouth to speak but goes limp in his arms. Tikki flies over to Cat Noir and lands on his shoulder.

"I heard everything," she explains. "Lila is after you and wanted to leave Marinette for dead. If you defeat Lila, Marinette will be healed by the miraculous cure." Adrien nods but realizes something.

"Wait, Marinette can't become Ladybug to even use the cure," he states. "How will I defeat her without Ladybug?" Tikki looks down at her chosen's broken form with tears in her eyes.

"You must become Mister Bug again," she says. "Plagg can watch over Marinette. You just need to leave your ring with her." Adrien nods and releases his transformation.

"Claws in," he chokes. Adrien tosses Plagg a piece of Camembert cheese and swaps out his ring for Marinette's earrings. He slips the ring onto her right ring finger and covers it with her body. Putting on the earrings he calls the transformation. "Tikki, spots on!" One flash of pink light later and Adrien is replaced by Mister Bug. He swings away on his yoyo to defeat Lila.

***le magical time skip and POV change***

Marinette opens her eyes and blinks as she adjusts to the bright light. She sits up in a panic and feels her shoulder but the wound is gone.

"You took quite a beating, kid," a voice says from behind her. Plagg floats into her field of vision. "It scared Adrien half to death." Marinette's eyes widened.

"Adrien!" she shouted. "Is he okay? Why are you here instead of with him?" Plagg chuckled at the young girl's fear for Adrien's safety.

"He's fine," Plagg tells her. "He had to use your miraculous to defeat that Lila girl to save you. You were really close to death." Marinette's hands fly to her ears and sure enough her earrings aren't there. Plagg notices her start to panic and sits by her neck. He starts purring to calm her down and similarly to Adrien, she relaxes.

"Since he defeated her, wouldn't he be back by now?" Marinette asks.

"Missing me already, Princess?" a familiar voice says from by the windows. Marinette whips her head towards the sound and sees Mister Bug posing in the open window. Tears escape Marinette's eyes as she tries to stand. Mister Bug calls the detransformation and runs over to Marinette. His emerald eyes search her ocean blue ones as he pulls her up. She hugs him close. He returns the hug, relieved to see that she is okay. Pulling away she kisses his cheek as a thank you for saving her. He smiles and brushes his hand over her cheek. She leans into his touch and takes off his ring. She slips it back onto his finger where it belongs. Adrien kisses her forehead and takes off her earrings. He gives them back to her, afraid to hurt her if he puts them back in himself. She puts her earring back in her ears and reaches into her purse to pull out a cookie for Tikki. Together they go and unlock the classroom door and head back to their seats. As the class starts filing in, Adrien and Marinette ignore them all. Adrien pulls Marinette closer and presses his lips to hers. She gladly returns the kiss and runs her fingers through his hair not wanting to stop. Not even Alya's coughing can break them apart. Once they do separate, their foreheads touch as they gaze into each other's eyes. The door opens once more, and Miss Bustier walks in.

"Okay class," she begins. "We as a faculty have decided to give you all the day to hang out and prepare for tonight's presentation and dance. We will all be here for supervision but you guys can pretty much do whatever as long as it is not dangerous and not off-campus. Have fun!" She walks out and props the door open. Adrien looks at Marinette.

"So," he starts. "What would you like to do with our free time, Princess?"

**So, the next chapter is going to be my last for this story. However, I will be publishing a new story combining the soulmate AU with Marinette being the princess of China. I have been reading way too many romantic books lately! XD Anyways, thank you for the reviews guys! You're the best! -BG**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys, here is chapter 13! My final chapter of this story is here! I hope you enjoy! -BG**

The rest of the day goes by without any incident which is a shock for Marinette. She and Adrien spent the day talking. He stayed by her side to make sure that she stayed safe. Eventually the time came to get ready for their costume presentation. Adrien kisses Marinette on her cheek and heads towards the boys bathroom to change. Marinette squeezes Adrien's hand and walks towards the girls bathroom. They both change into their costumes and meet up in the classroom with the rest of the students. The class is dressed in a wide range of costumes from animals to famous people. Marinette and Adrien stay off to the side as they make the last minute alterations to each others costumes so that they look perfect. As the other groups are presenting, Marinette does Adrien's makeup to complete his costume and he does hers to match. Finally, it is their turn to present. Both walk up to the stage their class built in the courtyard. They walk up the stairs and everyone goes silent. They are dressed as Ladybug and Cat Noir but with a ton of twists. Marinette is a Lady Noir and Adrien is Mister Bug. However, the color schemes are different. Adrien's Mister Bug costume is made with dark colors . Each color is accented perfectly around the whole outfit. They swirl around and compliment each other perfectly. Marinette's Lady Noir costume is in pastel rainbow colors in nearly the exact pattern as Adrien. She grasps Adrien's hand as they begin their little catalk to show off their creations. They walk in sync as though they have done this forever. To the audience, it is a magical sight. Their presentation ends and the class bursts into applause. Alya runs over to Marinette and tries to drag her to a spot to talk but Marinette stumbles because of her injured ankle. The poor girl falls but is caught by none other than her kitty. Adrien steadys her and glares at Alya. However, the glare fades as Alya eyes widen in shock.

"Marinette, your ankle," Alya whispers. "What happened?"

"Lila," Adrien cuts in before Marinette can respond. "Lila happened." Alya's eyes get even wider. She shakes her head in disbelief.

"No, that's not possible," Alya argues. Marinette painfully shifts her weight to lean on Adrien. He notices and walks her over to a bench to prop her foot up. Alya follows them, still talking. "I don't believe you. Lila would never." At this, Marinette's face contorts in anger. Adrien goes to speak but Marinette stops him.

"It's not possible?" Marinette asks seething in anger and hurt. "It's not possible Alya?! Lila tore my stuff apart, shoved me out of my seat and onto the floor, is all in Adrien's business, turned into an Akuma and shoved me down the stairs, stabbed me with a freaking knife multiple times in the shoulder and left me to die, and even took all of my friends away from me besides Adrien. You are telling me that all of my suffering is a lie? That everything that has happened is fake? Look around Alya! Check your gosh darn facts! She lies with every breath and you defend her while your best friend sits here in pain. How do you think that makes me feel? I trusted you with nearly everything and you toss it away the second someone says something bad about me that isn't even true when you dig deeper?" Marinette is shouting at this point with Alya crying on the floor in total defeat. "Find me when you decide to be a real friend." She looks at Adrien and he immediately knows what she wants. Leading her away he smiles. He is so proud of her for standing up for herself. He was fine with defending her but it means more if she does it herself. They reach another bench in the party-ready courtyard and Adrien helps Marinette sit down. Tikki pops her head out of Marinette's purse which is hidden between the two young adults.

"I'm proud of you Marinette," the tiny ladybug kwami says. "It took a lot of courage to stand up to Alya about Lila." Marinette gives Tikki a small smile but tears form in her eyes.

"Thanks Tikki," Marientte starts with her gaze on the floor. "I just miss her so much. How she can believe Lila's lies, I have no idea but it hurts." Tikki looks at Adrien for help and he nods in understanding, Adrien takes her hand in his as Plagg pops his head out of Adrien's jacket, finally awoken from his nap.

"Hey, everything will be okay, Princess," Adrien says softly. "You have me, you have Plagg and you have Tikki. The four of us can face anything and do anything. We are Ladybug and Cat Noir. A team, partners. As superheroes and as civilians." He boops her nose as he says this, making her giggle. "It's you and me against the world M'Lady. Always has, always will. I'm not going anywhere no matter what anyone else says." Marinette smiles at Adrien's words. Her tears fade and she looks up at her partner. He leans down and kisses her forehead.

"Thank you, Adrien," Marinette says. Adrien hugs her close.

"No purr-oblem, M'Lady," he replies while she laughs at his pun. "Now, would you like to go join the party, Princess?" Marinette shakes her head.

"Not really, Kitty," she answers. "I kinda want to stay right here with you." Adrien smiles.

"Well, in that case, I have an idea," he says with a smirk. "Close your eyes." Marinette does as he asks and Adrien slips into a classroom. "Plagg, claws out!" a flash of green light transforms Adrien into Cat Noir. Slipping out of the classroom he grabs Marinette bridal style and leaps over to their favorite spot. He gently puts her down and calls his detransformation. She leans on him as the green light fades.

"Where are we?" she asks, kind of nervous.

"Open your eyes," Adrien replies. Marinette does and gasps. He brought her to the Eiffel Tower, more specifically, their favorite spot on the Eiffel Tower. She limps carefully to the edge and holds a beam with her hand. Gazing out into the most beautiful sunset she sighs. Finally, she feels like everything is okay. Adrien stands beside her with his arm around her waist. Together they watch the sunset in each other's arms without a care in the world knowing that as long as they have each other, nothing can go wrong.

**So, this story is finally done! I hope you enjoyed it! I might do an epilogue but we will see. Thank you all for reading and leaving reviews! You're the best! -BG**


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